Baseball sweeps Albertus Magnus, 17-6 and 3-0

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Baseball team continued their climb to the playoffs this afternoon with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference double-header sweep of Albertus Magnus College, 17-4 and 3-0. The wins propel the Raiders' overall record to 9-13 and they are currently 5-4 in the GNAC. Albertus Magnus falls to 9-11 (3-5 GNAC). 

Game One: Rivier University 17, Albertus Magnus College 4 (Final)

The Raiders dismantled the Falcon defense en route to an impressive 17 runs. Nine Raiders were able to record hits in this game, including five batters with multiple hits. Three Raiders were able to knock out homeruns in this contest. J.J. Montello (Nashua, N.H.) on four plate appearances, was able to go a perfect 4-4 including a double and a big homerun. Montello was able to finish with 4 RBI's, and was also able to score an additional 4 runs.

David Cusack (Newburyport, Mass.) was another key contributor to the Raider offensive attack. On four plate appearances, Cusack was able to go 3-4 with 3 RBI's, 3 scored runs, and a key homerun to go with it. Taylor Black (West Springfield, Mass.) finished the game with an impressive 2 hits, 2 RBI's and an additional 2 scored runs for the Raiders. Mike Scanlon (Plantsville, Conn.) drove in another 3 runs, while teammate David Feole (Scituate, R.I.) finished with 3 RBI's and had the final Rivier homerun in the game. Marc Medeiros (Arlington, Mass.) recorded just one hit for the Raiders, but was able to make his contributions by score 3 big runs for the Rivier.

Edward Soucie (South Ryegate, V.T.) picked up the win on the mound for the Raiders as he was able to hold the Falcon attack to just 4 hits and 1 earned run. The Raiders will play the Falcons in game two of their double header later this afternoon.

Game Two: Rivier University 3, Albertus Magnus College 0 (Final)

The big story of this game was Lucas Palma (Bristol, Conn.) and his efforts on the mound for Rivier tonight. Palma was able to pick up his second victory of the season after he was able to pitch a complete game shut-out for the Raiders. Allowing zero runs on only four hits, Palma was able to keep the Falcon attack in check throughout the entire game. He was also able to strike out 3 batters in the game.

The Raider offense was propelled by many different batters in this one. In fact, there were six different Raiders who were able to record themselves a hit. Montello had a great night hitting the ball for the Raiders. For the second consecutive game, Montello was able to record multiple RBI's. In three plate appearances, Montello was able to record a big double that was able to drive home Ty Seaton (Pawtucket, R.I.) and Adam Arkell (Dover, N.H.). Mike Scanlon (Plantsville, Conn.) was also able to knock out an impressive double in this one that drove home Taylor Black (West Springfield, Mass.). There efforts were just enough to secure themselves the 3-0 victory.

The Rivier Baseball team will return to action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Lasell College to take on the Lasers in a double-header matchup. The Raiders will first play at 3:00pm and again at 5:00pm.